JOHN PAUL IISUPREME PONTIFFAPOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONUNIVERSI DOMINICI GREGISON THE VACANCY OF THE APOSTOLIC SEE AND THE ELECTION OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF

JOHN PAUL, BISHOPSERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD FOR PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE

The Shepherd of the Lord's whole flock is the Bishop of the Church of Rome, where the Blessed Apostle Peter, by sovereign disposition of divine Providence, offered to Christ the supreme witness of martyrdom by the shedding of his blood. It is therefore understandable that the lawful apostolic succession in this See, with which "because of its great pre-eminence every Church must agree",1 has always been the object of particular attention.

APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONFIDEI DEPOSITUMON THE PUBLICATION OF THECATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCHPREPARED FOLLOWING THESECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL

To my Venerable Brothers the Cardinals, to the Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons and all the People of God

JOHN PAUL II, BISHOPSERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GODFOR EVERLASTING MEMORY

I

INTRODUCTION

Guarding the deposit of faith is the mission which the Lord has entrusted to his Church and which she fulfils in every age. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, which was opened 30 years ago by my predecessor Pope John XXIII, of happy memory, had as its intention and purpose to highlight the Church's apostolic and pastoral mission, and by making the truth of the Gospel shine forth, to lead all people to seek and receive Christ's love which surpasses all knowledge (cf. Eph 3:19).

BORN FROM THE HEART of the Church, a Catholic University is located in that course of tradition which may be traced back to the very origin of the University as an institution. It has always been recognized as an incomparable centre of creativity and dissemination of knowledge for the good of humanity. By vocation, the Universitas magistrorum et scholarium is dedicated to research, to teaching and to the education of students who freely associate with their teachers in a common love of knowledge(1). With every other University it shares that gaudium de veritate, so precious to Saint Augustine, which is that joy of searching for, discovering and communicating truth(2) in every field of knowledge. A Catholic University's privileged task is "to unite existentially by intellectual effort two orders of reality that too frequently tend to be placed in opposition as though they were antithetical: the search for truth, and the certainty of already knowing the fount of truth"(3).

APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION SACRAE DISCIPLINAE LEGESOF THE SUPREME PONTIFFPOPE JOHN PAUL II FOR THE PROMULGATION OF THE NEW CODE OF CANON LAW

TO THE REVERED BROTHERS, CARDINALS, ARCHBISHOPS, BISHOPS, PRIESTS, DEACONS, AND TO THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD,JOHNPAUL, BISHOP SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD AS A PERPETUAL RECORD

During the course of the centuries, the Catholic Church has been accustomed to reform and renew the laws of canonical discipline so that, in constant fidelity to her divine Founder, they may be better adapted to the saving mission entrusted to her. Prompted by this same purpose and fulfilling at last the expectations of the whole Catholic world, I order today, January 25, 1983, the promulgation of the revised Code of Canon Law. In so doing, my thoughts go back to the same day of the year 1959, when my Predecessor of happy memory, John XXIII, announced for the first time his decision to reform the existing corpus of canonical legislation which had been promulgate on the feast of Pentecost in the year 1917.

The Divine Teacher and Model of Perfection, Christ Jesus, who together with the Father and the Holy Spirit is proclaimed as "alone holy", loved the Church as His bride and delivered Himself up for her so that He might sanctify her and make her glorious in His sight. Thus He gave the commandment to all His disciples to imitate the perfection of the Father and He sends upon all the Holy Spirit, who might inspire them from within to love God with their whole heart and to love one another as He Himself loved them. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, the followers of Christ, called and justified in the Lord Jesus not according to their works but according to His own purpose and grace, through baptism sought in faith truly become sons of God and sharers in the divine nature, and thus truly holy.(1)